"This article was written by Ray Van Dusen from the Monroe Journal on 10/1/24"
ABERDEEN – The Magnolia Group hosted Aberdeen High School JROTC aerospace science instructor Col. Tyrone Williams and cadets from the senior leadership class as featured guests of its Sept. 19 meeting.
Williams explained the purpose of the high school’s Air Force JROTC program, along with reports of exemplary results from a unit inspection last year and Aberdeen’s flight academy.
“The purpose of the JROTC is to create citizens. People ask all the time how many I got to sign up (for the military), and that’s not what it’s about. If people sign up, that’s good. If they do four years in the JROTC, I give them a cord. If people do two years in JROTC, I give them a certificate and they can give it to a recruiter and they come out of basic training with two stripes instead of none,” he said.
Williams said the program teaches responsibility and leadership skills.
As far as Aberdeen High School’s flight academy, former JROTC instructor Allen Williams previously applied for funding, which was more recently awarded $1 million through the U.S. Department of Labor to train student pilots and aircraft mechanics.
The current class is comprised of five juniors who are learning about the aspects of aviation.
The school is working with personnel at the Columbus Air Force Base who made suggestions about the purchase of aircraft, but a plane has not been purchased yet. Williams is optimistic students will earn their student pilot licenses by the end of the school year.
Participants in the program will split time between Aberdeen High School and the Monroe County Airport.
As far as last semester’s inspection results, Williams said the AHS JROTC program ranked high in the community service platform through community events, such as the city’s 9/11 remembrance program, and at the school.
“There are about 870 Air Force JROTC programs around the world. In the community service arena, Aberdeen High School was one of the top 45 programs in the entire world,” Williams said.